Larger solar collector installations usually include an array of solar collector assemblies. Such systems can be used in conjunction with photovoltaic panels, thermal solar collector devices as well as concentrators for concentrating solar energy onto photovoltaic devices or thermal solar collection devices.
Some of these solar collector installations include hardware for automatically adjusting the position of the collector devices to track the sun as it moves across the sky. This tracking movement can be accomplished in a number of different ways. Some systems use a single axis tracking system in which the collector devices pivot about a single axis. Such single axis type tracking systems often include a drive shaft or “torque tube” which defines a single pivot axis.
Further, in some of these systems, the torque tube can be used to both support the solar collector devices and transmit the torque used for adjusting the position of the solar collecting devices. In some concentrator systems, efficiency can drop if the mirrors are misaligned by as little as 0.1°. Thus, high performance of such systems is more likely to be achieved if the components of the concentrator arrays are manufactured to precise tolerances. On the other hand, high precision components and complex, time consuming assembly procedures can adversely affect the economic feasibility of such systems.